Local News Archive

Print Issue: March 28, 2002

A Life Lived Apart...
A Journey Through A Day At Our Lady Of Holy Spirit Abbey

Introduction • Vigils • Lauds • Terce • Sext • None • Vespers • Compline

A photo illustration from a photo by Michael Alexander of a concrete sculpture of St. Benedict of Nursia, the patriarch of western monasticism, hangs on the south side of the abbey. It serves as a reminder to the monks that their life is lived according to St. Benedict's wisdom. The foundation of Cistercian life is based on "the Rule of St. Benedict," a guide for seeking God through a balance of liturgical prayer, manual labor, private prayer and meditation on the Scriptures.

By Deacon Michael Balfour
Photography by Michael Alexander

CONYERS-God speaks to us in many ways and often works in our lives through the gift of curiosity.

There is a song by Bob Carlisle about a man who walks by a monastery day in and day out all his life. He "wonders what they do in there?" One day he happens to walk by just as a monk is sweeping the sidewalk outside the gate. He asks him, "What do you do in there?" The monk looks at him for a moment and replies, "We fall down, we get up, we fall down, we get up, we fall down, and we get up."

I have been on many retreats over the years at the monastery, but always staying in the guesthouse. But I must admit curiosity about what it was like "on the inside" has always been with me. What did the monks do in there all day?

Recently, Michael Alexander and I had the privilege of being invited to stay with the monks of Our Lady of Holy Spirit Abbey to document a day in the life of a monk. Although many know this special place in Conyers as "The Monastery," its correct name is Our Lady of Holy Spirit Abbey. The abbot, Dom Basil Pennington, OCSO, explained that while a monastery still owes allegiance to the founding mother- house, an abbey is independent of any ties and is a house unto itself.

In the weeks leading up to our visit, my anxieties gradually grew. What would be expected of us? How would we be welcomed by the brothers who seldom see an outsider in their midst? Would my prayers be up to their standards? I knew a life dedicated to "the Rule of St. Benedict" was disciplined and strict, and I knew mine was not. What was my curiosity leading me to?

We are at the end of our Lenten journey. If these 40 days seemed to stretch unendingly for us as we struggled in our efforts to be reconciled with our God on our path to Easter, consider this passage from "The Rule of St. Benedict:"

"The life of a monk ought to be a continuous lent."
RB 49.1.

I discovered that for a Trappist monk, each day of his life is a daily Lenten journey lived solely for the love of Jesus Christ.

There are different levels of brothers - from novice to oblate to observer. Each level requires different duties and responsibilities for the development and growth of their spirituality and work assignments for the support and growth of the community. But no matter where on their journey in the community, all members of the house begin the day together, before God who has called them to be there.

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